Posing as lawyer not an offence, says court

Ravinder Pratap Singh allegedly dresses up in ‘black suit, white shirt and a black tie’ and habitually appears in courts, posing as an advocate.

Ravinder Pratap Singh allegedly dresses up in ‘black suit, white shirt and a black tie’ and habitually appears in courts, posing as an advocate.

Irked by this impersonation, a retired Army major approached police and then the court, seeking an FIR against Singh. Both the forums turned him down on the grounds that wearing a lawyer’s garb in court was not an offence under the criminal code.

After police refused to register a complaint, Rathore moved an application before Metropolitan Magistrate Swati Katiyar, asking the court to direct police to register a FIR against Singh. The Magistrate, however, took into account the action taken report filed by police while considering the application.

“Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar has filed action taken report, submitting that during enquiry it has been revealed that wearing of black suit, white shirt and black tie in court premises is not an offence… It is submitted that the matter was found noncognisable and hence no action was taken according to law,” the court observed.

“However one opportunity is granted to complainant to prove his case,” the court held, while directing Rathore to produce evidence against Singh in court on March 14.